ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: content · cold · cue · bore · mine · field · scale · bowl

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. field — a subject
  7. cold — not warm
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bore — to drill
  15. scale — in music
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — for sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bore — gave birth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com